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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 
COMMODORE  BYRON  MCCANDLESS 


o 


The  Capture  and  Occupation 
of  Richmond 

April  3rd,  1865 


By 

Edward   H.   Ripley 

Col.  9th  Vt.  Inf.  and  Brevet  Brig.-Genl.  Vols. 

Commanding  ist    Brigade,   3rd    Division,    24th    Army 
Corps,  Army  of  the  James 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

1907 


FINAL  SCENES  AT  THE  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPA- 
TION OF  RICHMOND,  APRIL  3,  1865. 

READ  BY  BREVET  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  EDWARD  H.  RIPLEY, 

DEC.  5,  1906. 

THIS  paper  is  the  story  of  the  work  of  the  First  Brigade, 
Third  Division,  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Army  Corps, 
which  I  had  the  honor  to  command  at  the  capture  and 
occupation.of  Richmond,  April  3,  1865.  It  was  written  soon 
after  the  war  to  fill  a  gap  in  a  collection  of  some  400  of  my 
war  letters  collected  and  preserved  by  a  thoughtful  mother, 
and  is  a  description  of  an  historical  event  which  for  grandeur 
and  spectacular  effect  had  few  if  any  equals  in  the  course  of 
the  Civil  War.  It  necessarily  is  written  in  the  first  person ; 
but  a  veteran  who  has  the  right  to  say  proudly,  of  any 
event  of  interest  in  the  Civil  War  in  which  he  participated, 
"A  part  of  which  I  was"  will  understand  it. 

On  the  night  of  the  2jth  of  March,  1865,  the  First  Division 
of  the  Twenty-fourth  Army  Corps,  under  Brigadier-General 
Robert  S.  ("  Sandy")  Foster  of  Indiana,  and  the  inde- 
pendent division,  under  Brevet  Major-General  John  W. 
Turner,  led  by  Major-General  John  Gibbon,  our  corps 
commander,  and  accompanied  by  Major-General  E.  O. 
C.  Ord,  the  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  James,  then 
holding  the  lines  on  the  Bermuda  front  and  the  north 
side  of  the  James  River,  stealthily  withdrew  from  their 
trenches  in  front  of  Richmond,  and  by  daylight  of  the  28th 
had  crossed  the  river  and  were  well  on  their  way  to  the  left 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  There  they  took  their  full 
share  of  the  bloody  battles  which  Meade  and  Sheridan 
delivered  in  quick  succession,  until  Lee,  breathless  and 


1023983 


2  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

exhausted,  gave  up  the  contest  and  surrendered  at  Appo- 
mattox  Courthouse. 

Our  division,  the  Third  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Army  Corps, 
under  Brigadier-General  Charles  Devens,  was  left  behind  to 
extend  over  and  hold  the  trenches  thus  evacuated.  That 
night  I  was  withdrawn  from  our  position  at  the  right  of 
Fort  Harrison,  and  stretched  out  in  a  thin  line  over  the 
ground  recently  held  by  the  three  brigades  of  Foster's 
division.  Daylight  broke  to  find  me  established  in  General 
Foster's  abandoned  headquarters  at  the  sallyport  on  the 
Newmarket  road,  at  the  salient  of  our  lines,  where  we 
approached  most  nearly  to  Richmond. 

Here  a  new  regiment  was  added  to  my  command,  and 
about  500  convalescents  and  stragglers,  representing  nearly 
every  regiment  in  the  other  two  divisions,  were  organized 
into  a  regiment,  equipped,  and  taken  upon  my  rolls.  The 
brigade  then  comprised  the  following  regiments: 

The  staff,  7.         Officers.   Men. 

nth  Ct.  26         412     Major  Chas.  Warren  command- 

ing. 
1 3th  N.  H.  13         247     Lieutenant  -  Colonel        Norman 

Smith  commanding. 

igth  Wis.  15         308     Major  Vaughn  commanding. 

8ist  N.  Y.  ii  83     Captain  Betton  commanding. 

98th  N.  Y.  17         268     Lieutenant  -  Colonel        William 

Kreutzer  commanding. 

i39th  N.  Y.  16         306     Major  Theo.  Miller  commanding. 

Convalescents  14         546 


A  total  of  119         2250 

Of  these  my  morning  report  showed  91  officers  and 
2219  privates  for  duty,  and  90  officers  and  1950  privates 
effective. 

We  lay  here  without  incident  until  Saturday  evening,  the 
ist  of  April,  when  I  received  orders  from  General  Grant  to 
hold  the  brigade  under  arms  all  night,  massed  and  ready  for 
an  assault  on  the  enemy's  works  in  our  front;  to  spend  the 
night  out  on  the  outer  vidette  line,  carefully  watch  for 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  3 

signs  of  unusual  movements  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  with 
whom  we  were  in  close  contact,  and,  if  I  became  suspicious 
of  uneasiness  on  their  part,  to  send  word  to  General  Weit- 
zel,  the  commander  of  the  colored  corps  and  of  the  forces 
left  on  the  north  bank  of  the  James,  and  assault  at  once 
on  my  own  responsibility. 

When  taps  sounded  that  night  the  brigade  was  silently 
massed  in  bivouac  in  column  behind  the  sally  through 
our  works  across  the  Newmarket  road. 

Our  videttes  and  those  of  the  rebels  were  within  easy 
conversing  distance,  so  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  them 
to  make  any  movement  unobserved. 

It  was  a  clear,  starlight  night,  still  and  beautiful.  I 
can  experience  again  through  the  lapse  of  the  years,  as  my 
thoughts  go  back  to  that  dramatic  scene,  the  peaceful  round 
of  the  hours,  as  I  lay  with  my  ear  to  the  ground,  listening 
for  a  sign  of  life  among  the  slumbering  hosts  of  friends  and 
foes  that  environed  me. 

Hour  after  hour  at  the  same  moment  the  officers  of  the 
pickets  on  both  sides  came  up  from  the  reserves  and  passed 
along,  the  hushed  sound  of  low  voices  breaking  the  solemn 
stillness  for  a  moment  as  the  videttes  reported  to  their  relief, 
and  then  with  catlike  caution  retired  to  rest  in  the  con- 
scious unconsciousness  of  a  picket  reserve. 

Sunday  morning  came  with  no  apparent  knowledge  on 
the  part  of  the  enemy  of  the  gigantic  blow  that  was  uplifted 
in  the  air  beyond  the  Weldon  Railroad  and  already  descending 
full  of  fate  to  the  doomed  Confederacy.  They  stayed  quietly 
in  their  camps,  enjoying  a  peaceful  Sabbath,  under  the 
observation  of  the  look-outs  I  had  posted  in  the  tops  of 
trees  along  my  front. 

Bursting  full  of  great  events  as  we  knew  the  week  would 
be,  nearing  the  end,  as  we  saw  from  the  crowds  of  despairing 
Confederates  who  nightly  threw  away  their  arms  and  with 
them  all  hope  of  their  cause,  and  came  into  our  lines,  not  a 
man  of  us  dreamed  when  night  came  that  of  all  the  laborious 
Sundays  of  the  long  years  we  had  passed  with  an  armed  foe 
in  our  front,  this  was  the  last. 


4  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

As  evening  came  the  order  for  redoubled  vigilance  was 
repeated.  In  had  been  a  day  of  unusual  solemnity,  lying 
through  the  dragging  hours  in  the  straining  suspense  of 
waiting  for  the  fateful  word  that  would  dash  us  against  those 
fearful  walls  of  red  earth,  deep  ditches,  impenetrable  abattis, 
and  thickly  planted  torpedoes,  from  which  so  many  bloody 
assaults  of  columns  heavier  than  ours  had  been  hurled  back 
with  ease.  It  is  not  enjoyable  to  stand  through  a  long 
day  and  coolly  contemplate  the  desperate  chances  of  a  for- 
lorn hope,  which  was  expected  not  to  win,  but  to  amuse  the 
enemy  and  hold  him  in  place. 

The  night  fell  cloudy  and  dark  as  I  plunged  into  the 
mysterious  silence  and  gloom  for  my  last  night  on  the  picket 
line.  It  passed  uneventfully,  as  the  preceding  one  had 
passed,  except  that  blue  mist  settled  on  the  earth.  About 
4  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  column  of  flame  suddenly  shot 
high  in  the  air  in  the  direction  of  Richmond,  quickly  fol- 
lowed by  another  and  another.  Then  came  the  subdued 
hum  of  noises  far  away  toward  the  doomed  city.  To  my 
eager  ears,  drinking  in  the  sounds  from  that  mighty  primeval 
telephone  the  earth,  as  I  lay  with  my  ear  pressed  closely 
to  it,  the  low,  supernatural  rumbling  seemed  as  though  its 
interior  was  alive  with  the  busy  motion  of  its  myriad  of  the 
dead.  Still,  strangely,  no  sound  came  from  our  immediate 
front.  We  strained  our  eyes  in  vain  to  catch  sight,  through 
the  mist  and  darkness,  of  the  opposing  videttes.  The  first 
gray  of  dawn  showed  us  that,  favored  by  the  night  and  the 
mist,  they  had,  with  the  stillness  of  ghosts,  been  stealthily 
withdrawn. 

I  quickly  deployed  our  picket  line  as  skirmishers,  pushed 
them  on,  and  followed  closely  with  the  brigade,  ready  to 
deploy,  sending  word  to  General  Weitzel,  through  General 
Devens,  that  I  was  advancing  to  the  assault  and  to  hurry 
up  supports.  This  was  the  first  movement  of  any  of  the 
troops  along  the  Union  line,  and  as  we  gained  the  parapet 
of  the  rebel  fortifications  we  found  it  deserted. 

Pushing  my  skirmishers  still  forward  I  looked  down  the 
line  of  Union  defence  toward  Fort  Brady — our  left,  resting 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  5 

on  the  James,  which  this  higher  ground  commanded  in  its 
view — to  see  if  the  forward  movement  was  general.  Skir- 
mishers were  advancing,  but  at  that  moment,  we  alone  were 
in  possession  of  the  enemy's  works.  Alone  the  First  Brigade 
of  the  Third  division,  Twenty-fourth  Army  Corps,  entirely 
unsupported,  was  within  the  renowned  and  impregnable 
defences  of  the  rebel  capital,  happily  without  loss,  although 
the  front  of  their  abattis  was  planted  thick  with  torpedoes. 

Understanding  that  the  order  to  assault  quickly  upon 
detecting  any  movement  of  the  enemy  meant  that  General 
Grant  wished  General  Ewell,  commanding  the  Confederate 
forces  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  attacked  and  held  at 
all  hazards,  I  pushed  on  with  the  utmost  haste  to  overtake 
him  and  force  him  to  fight.  When  first  over  the  works  the 
excitement  was  intense  and  the  men  rushed  wildly  in  every 
direction,  capturing  and  claiming  guns  for  their  respective 
regiments,  until  a  howling  maniac  in  blue  sat  astride  of 
every  one  of  the  thickly  planted  guns  in  reach.  It  was  some 
time  before  the  enthusiasm  could  be  controlled  and  the 
men  got  back  to  their  ranks.  The  onward  movement  to 
the  second  or  inner  line  was  rapid  but  cautious,  not  knowing 
at  what  moment  we  might  strike  Ewell's  rear  guard,  waiting 
for  us  behind  them. 

At  every  instant  the  terrific  explosions  in  the  direction 
of  Richmond  grew  more  frequent  and  great  volumes  of 
black  smoke  rolled  up  into  the  heavens,  showing  that  the 
work  of  destruction  begun  by  the  rebels  themselves  was 
going  rapidly  on. 

The  slower  advance,  while  feeling  our  way  over  the 
second  line,  gave  the  balance  of  our  division  time  to  over- 
take us,  which  they  did,  falling  in  behind  the  First  Brigade. 

The  headquarters  cavalry,  commanded  by  Major  Stevens 
of  General  Weitzel's  staff,  now  passed  us,  and  a  light  battery 
came  dashing  up  demanding  the  way  on  the  Newmarket 
road,  apparently  filled  with  a  crazy  ambition  to  gallop  on, 
attack  Ewell,  and  capture  the  city  with  unsupported  guns. 
In  possession  of  the  road,  and  knowing  no  use  for  artillery 
on  the  skirmish  line,  we  refused  to  yield  it.  The  eager, 


6  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

crack-brained  young  officer  in  command,  frenzied  with  the 
wild  joy  with  which  every  heart  was  throbbing,  seeing  an 
open  field  extending  some  distance  ahead  along  our  left 
flank,  rushed  into  it  with  his  horses  lashed  into  a  mad 
gallop  and  tried  to  run  in  ahead  of  us.  The  i3th  New 
Hampshire,  at  the  head  of  the  column,  broke  of  its  own  in- 
spiration into  a  sharp  double-quick  until  the  too  impetuous 
young  artilleryman  found  himself  pocketed  in  a  swamp 
with  which  the  field  was  terminated.  He  then  fell  into 
his  proper  place  in  the  rear  of  the  brigade. 

From  the  second  line,  then  past  the  inner  batteries  to 
Rocketts,  where  it  became  more  certain  that  Ewell  had 
made  good  his  escape  and  there  was  to  be  no  fight  over  the 
city,  not  even  with  his  rear  guard,  I  rode  backward  and 
forward  along  the  column,  exchanging  congratulations  with 
the  officers,  and  looking  down  into  the  flashing  eyes  and 
quivering  faces  of  the  men  as  they  glanced  up  at  me  in  the 
mute  freemasonry  of  a  common  joy  and  glory.  It  was 
hardly  needed,  so  eager  and  furious  was  the  march  and  so 
well  closed  up  the  ranks  from  the  anxiety  of  the  rear  regi- 
ments to  grasp  the  long-fought-for  prize  as  soon  as  the  head 
of  the  column,  but  as  I  drifted  back  and  forth  along  the 
flank,  and  occasionally  sat  still  in  my  saddle  to  enjoy  the 
sight  of  the  long  column  rushing  by,  I  sang  out,  as  of  old, 
but  never  before  so  exultingly,  that  old,  old  song  which  will 
never  die  out  from  the  ears  of  the  veteran  until  death  shall 
close  them,  "Close  up,  boys!  Close  up!  No  straggling  in 
the  ranks  of  the  First  B  rigade  to-day.  Close  up !  Close  up ! " 

It  was  my  last,  as  I  stood  up  in  my  stirrups  singing 
the  last  refrain  of  a  song  sung  for  three  long  years:  in  the 
golden  sunshine  of  Southern  springs,  in  the  fierce  heat  and 
choking  dust  of  Southern  summers,  the  mud  and  frosts 
and  snows  of  winter.  Harsh,  heartless,  inexorable,  it  had 
risen  and  pierced  the  midnight  air  in  that  valley  crowded 
with  the  tragedies  of  the  war, — the  Shenandoah  with  its 
quickly  alternating  triumphs  and  defeats, — on  the  Penin- 
sula with  its  deadly  miasmas,  and  North  Carolina  amid 
the  gloom  of  its  tar  forests  and  the  slumping  of  its  soft 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  7 

sands.  Through  the  weary  hours  of  the  night  it  had  risen 
like  the  weird  cry  of  the  owl — "Close  up,  men!  Close  up! 
Close  up,  men !  Close  up ! " 

I  stood  there  on  the  threshold  of  the  rebel  capital,  with 
the  old  cry  upon  my  lips,  and  knew  not  that  at  that  mo- 
ment, by  our  incredible  presence  within  those  fateful  lines, 
the  cruel  war  was  at  last  over,  and  that  that  peace  we  had 
so  longed  and  prayed  for,  triumphant  peace,  hovered  over 
us  and  that  I  should  never  again  haunt  the  flank  of  a 
marching  column  with  a  heart  steeled  against  all  its  natural 
sympathies,  and  shout  to  men  sick  in  body,  sick  at  heart, 
lame,  foot-sore  and  exhausted, — "Close  up,  men!  Close 
up!"  I  am  glad  that  the  last  note  of  this  cry  fell  a  glad 
refrain  upon  the  ears  of  an  exultant  column,  and  glad  that 
I  can  look  back  in  my  memory  into  faces  lighted  up  with 
joy,  instead  of  being  haunted  with  the  last  memory  of  faces 
stamped  with  the  misery  and  wretchedness  of  a  cruelly 
forced  march. 

At  last,  about  7  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we  approached 
Rocketts,  the  steamboat  landing  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
city,  where  the  rebel  iron-clads  had  been  lying.  There  I 
received  orders  to  deploy  a  strong  line  of  guards  across  from 
the  river  up  the  ravine  of  Gillies  Creek,  with  orders  to  permit 
no  one  to  pass,  but  to  turn  every  one  back  to  join  his  com- 
mand, and  get  ready  for  the  formal  entry  into  the  city.  I 
was  also  ordered  to  dress  up  my  own  command  and  put  all 
my  regimental  bands  at  the  head  of  the  column.  I  hap- 
pened to  have  the  unusual  number  of  three.  While  this 
was  going  on  an  iron-clad,  which  was  lying  in  the  stream 
abreast  of  us,  the  last  of  all  the  river  fleet,  blew  up  with  a 
terrible  concussion,  nearly  knocking  us  off  our  feet  and  over- 
whelming us  with  a  tempest  of  black  smoke,  cinders,  and 
debris.  I  do  not  remember  that  any  one  was  injured,  yet 
a  part  of  it  went  over  our  heads  into  the  fields  beyond.  The 
roar  of  the  exploding  arsenals,  magazines,  and  warehouses 
filled  with  explosives  of  the  ordnance  bureau  was  deafening 
and  awe-inspiring. 

At  this  moment  Col.  Geo.  W.  Hooker,  assistant  adjutant- 


8  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

general  of  the  Third  Division,  rode  up  to  me  and  said :  "  You 
are  in  luck  to-day,  General.  General  Weitzel  has  given  orders 
that  you  are  to  have  the  head  of  the  column  in  the  triumphal 
entry  which  we  are  ready  to  make  into  the  city."  I  was, 
of  course,  elated  at  this,  for  it  would  have  been  natural  for 
General  Weitzel  to  have  given  to  the  colored  troops  of  his  own 
corps  the  place^  of  honor  for  this  historical  pageant,  as  Horace 
Greeley,  in  his  history  of  The  American  Conflict,  wrongly 
avers  that  he  did,  ignoring  the  presence  of  any  but 
colored  troops  in  Richmond  that  day.  This  would  have 
been,  however,  great  injustice  to  General  Devens  and  to  me, 
for  my  brigade  of  his  division  was  the  first  over  the  line, 
and  the  first  to  reach  the  city  at  Rocketts,  and  Devens's  was 
the  only  division  which  kept  its  formation  perfect  and  could 
have  attacked  Ewell  had  he  come  to  bay.  My  brigade  was 
at  that  moment  at  the  head  of  the  column  because  we  had 
taken  it  and  kept  it,  and  it  belonged  to  us  as  a  right  and 
not  as  a  courtesy.  No  one  got  ahead  of  us  but  the  little 
squad  of  headquarters  cavalry,  which  had  overtaken  and 
passed  us,  and  which  did  not  pass  the  enemy's  lines  until 
after  my  message  had  reached  General  Devens  and  been  sent 
by  him  to  Weitzel. 

At  length  every  preparation  was  completed  that  could 
give  to  the  entry  of  the  Union  troops  an  imposing  character. 
No  time  could  be  wasted  on  this,  as  we  seemed  about  to 
plunge  into  a  sea  of  fire,  or  rather  the  crater  of  an  active 
volcano,  and  if  any  portion  of  the  doomed  capital  was  to  be 
saved  it  had  to  be  done  quickly.  When  the  word  came, 
with  my  three  bands  at  the  head  of  my  column,  I  turned  in 
my  saddle  and  cried  "Forward!"  to  the  eager  troops.  The 
bands  had  arranged  a  succession  of  Union  airs  which  had  not 
been  heard  for  years  in  thestreets  of  the  Confederate  capital, 
and  had  arranged  to  relieve  each  other  so  that  there  should 
be  no  break  in  the  exultant  strain  of  patriotic  music  during 
any  portion  of  the  march. 

The  route  was  up  Main  Street  to  Exchange  Hotel,  then 
across  by  Governor  Street  to  Capitol  Square.  The  city  was 
packed  with  a  surging  mob  of  Confederate  stragglers,  ne- 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  9 

groes,  and  released  convicts,  and  mob  rule  had  been  su- 
preme from  the  moment  Ewell  had  crossed  the  James  and 
burned  the  bridges  behind  him. 

The  air  was  darkened  by  the  thick  tempest  of  black 
smoke  and  cinders  which  swept  the  streets,  and  as  we 
penetrated  deeper  into  the  city  the  bands  were  nearly 
drowned  by  the  crashing  of  the  falling  walls,  the  roar  of 
the  flames,  and  the  terrific  explosions  of  shells  in  the  burning 
warehouses. 

Densely  packed  on  either  side  of  the  street  were  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  of  blacks,  until  that  moment  slaves 
in  fact,  for  the  emancipation  proclamation  had  never  be- 
fore penetrated  the  rebel  territory  to  strike  their  fetters  off. 
They  fell  upon  their  knees,  throwing  their  hands  wildly  in 
the  air  and  shouting:  "  Glory  to  God!  Glory  to  God!  The 
day  of  Jubilee  hab  come;  Massa  Linkum  am  here!  Massa 
Linkum  am  here!"  while  floods  of  tears  poured  down  their 
wild  faces.  They  threw  themselves  down  on  their  hands 
and  knees  almost  under  our  horses'  feet  to  pray  and  give 
thanks  in  the  wild  delirium  of  their  sudden  deliverance. 
Although  the  shops  had  been,  gutted  and  were  open,  the 
houses  were  closed,  and  when  we  reached  the  better  resi- 
dence portion  of  the  city  the  blinds  were  tightly  shut  and 
none  of  the  better  class  of  the  whites  were  to  be  seen,  though 
we  occasionally  saw  an  eye  peering  through  the  blinds. 

At  the  gate  of  the  square  opposite  the  north  entrance  of 
the  Confederate  capitol  grounds  an  aide-de-camp  of  General 
Weitzel  was  waiting  with  orders  to  halt  the  head  of  the  col- 
umn there  and  report  to  him  at  the  eastern  porch.  I  passed 
through  the  gate  into  the  park,  followed  by  my  staff  and 
cavalry  escort,  and  made  my  way  to  him.  I  found  the  lawn 
and  shrubbery,  through  which  the  black  smoke  and  burn- 
ing cinders  were  swirling,  crowded  with  the  headquarters 
cavalry  of  the  corps  and  division  commanders.  Upon  the 
broad  landing  at  the  head  of  the  tall  flight  of  steps  stood 
General  Weitzel  and  staff,  the  noble  personality  of  General 
Devens  with  his  staff,  and  grouped  around  were  the  division 
commanders  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Corps  of  colored  troops, 


10  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

with  the  Hon.  Joseph  Mayo,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  and  other 
city  officials. 

These  gentleman  had  driven  out  in  a  barouche  to  a  point 
where  they  met  the  head  of  the  column  and  tendered,  with 
theatrical  effect,  the  keys  of  the  fallen  city,  and  begged  the 
clemency  and  help  oi  the  Northern  victors. 

I  dismounted  and  ascended  to  General  Weitzel,  who  stood 
the  central  figure  of  this  brilliant  historical  scene.  I  saluted 
and  waited  in  innocent  curiosity  his  orders,  unsuspecting 
the  distinguished  honors  the  First  Brigade  was  to  receive  at 
his  hands. 

"  I  have  sent  for  you,  General  Ripley,"  he  said,  "  to  inform 
you  that  I  have  selected  you  to  take  command  of  this  city 
and  your  brigade  as  its  garrison.  I  have  no  orders  further 
to  communicate ;  except  to  say  that  I  wish  this  conflagration 
stopp©4,  and  this  city  saved  if  it  is  in  the  bounds  of  human 
possibility,  and  you  have  carte  blanche  to  do  it  in  your  own 
way." 

I  do  not  remember  exchanging  any  suggestions  with 
him  then,  except  to  say  that  I  would  like  the  other  troops 
withdrawn  wholly  from  the  city.  He  thereupon  gave  orders 
to  the  division  commanders  to  march  their  troops  through 
the  city  and  go  into  camp  along  the  interior  line  of  works 
and  give  no  passes. 

This  was  done,  yet  I  had  more  or  less  trouble  from  the 
disorder  of  the  colored  troops,  many  of  whom  stole  in  and 
went  directly  to  their  old  masters  and  mistresses  to  enjoy 
their  day  of  triumph  over  them.  It  was  reported  to  me 
that  one  went  to  a  residence  not  far  from  my  headquarters 
down  Main  Street,  where  his  wife  was  still  a  servant.  They 
made  the  lady  and  her  daughters  bring  out  their  finest  cloth- 
ing and.  ornaments,  play  ladies'  maids  to  the  black  women, 
and  finally  prepare  dinner  for  their  former  servants.  While 
it  was  going  on  word  was  sent  to  a  white  safeguard  near 
there,  who  appeared  on  the  scene  to  arrest  the  man.  He 
turned  savagely  on  the  guard,  who  in  turn  was  obliged  in 
self-defence  to  use  his  bayonet  and  run  him  through.  In 
the  hurry  and  confusion  of  those  intensely  absorbing  days 


I 

s 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  II 

I  never  had  time  to  learn  for  myself  if  this  story  was 
true. 

Leaving  General  Weitzel  I  returned  to  the  brigade,  hur- 
riedly selected  the  city  hall  for  my  headquarters,  despatched 
regimental  commanders  under  the  guidance  of  the  city  offi- 
cials to  select  in  various  sections  of  the  city  proper  points  at 
which  to  establish  their  regiments  for  effective  work.  Other 
officers  were  sent  with  members  of  the  fire  department  to 
get  at  the  engines  and  hose  carts,  but  found  to  our  utter 
astonishment  and  dismay  that,  to  make  the  destruction  of 
their  capital  more  certain  and  complete,  the  Confederate 
rear  guard  had  cut  the  hose  and  disabled  the  engines. 

The  alleged  destruction  of  Columbia  by  the  troops  of 
Sherman's  army,  if  it  were  true,  which  it  is  not,  cannot  be 
compared  with  the  ruthless  barbarity  of  the  rebel  troops. 

At  Richmond  they  attempted  the  destruction  of  their 
capital,  filled  as  it  was  to  overflowing  with  thousands  of 
defenceless  women  and  children,  fugitives  from  all  over  the 
South,  and  with  thousands  more  of  the  sick  and  wounded 
of  their  own  army,  when  its  destruction  could  not  have  the 
effect  to  sustain  the  sinking  Confederacy  for  a  moment.  It 
was  a  barbarism  unparalleled  in  history.  The  burning  of 
Moscow  by  the  stern  Rostopschin  was  terrible  but  effective 
warfare,  yet  he  first  drove  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  out, 
then  piled  the  city  full  of  combustibles,  destroyed  the  pumps, 
and  turned  loose  thousands  of  abandoned  wretches,  crim- 
inals of  the  worst  class,  in  an  empty  city.  He  destroyed 
it,  but  in  so  doing  snatched  in  an  instant  the  fruits  of  his 
great  campaign  from  Napoleon,  inflicting  on  him  the  greatest 
defeat  he  had  ever  sustained,  from  which  he  never  recovered 
and  which  was  the  beginning  of  his  downward  plunge  to 
Elba. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  pages  of  history  more  wantonly 
brutal  and  barbarous  than  the  desperate  attempt  of  Ewell 
to  burn  the  city  of  Richmond  over  the  heads  of  its  defence- 
less and  starving  women  and  children,  its  sick  and  wounded, 
without  warning  them  of  the  fate  which  was  hanging  over 
them. 


12  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

The  Confederacy,  like  a  wounded  wolf,  died  gnawing  at 
its  own  body  in  insensate  passion  and  fury. 

The  regiments  quickly  stripped  for  the  fight  of  their 
lives,  unique  and  terrible,  a  contest  with  a  gigantic  fire  ex- 
tending already  over  a  large  part  of  the  city,  and  roaring 
like  a  great  battle  with  the  explosions  of  the  vast  store  of 
war  materials,  and  threatening  the  destruction  of  the  entire 
city  with  its  helpless  inhabitants. 

None  of  the  usual  fire-fighting  machinery  was  at  hand. 
The  retreating  army  of  Ewell  had  cut  the  hose;  the  Rich- 
mond firemen  were  unequal  to  the  task,  so  the  First  Brigade 
had  to  depend  upon  blowing  up  and  pulling  down  buildings 
in  the  pathway  of  the  flames  to  check  them.  Happily  the 
wind  blew  down  the  river  and  carried  the  flames  and  cinders 
in  a  straight  line  through  the  business  and  away  from  the 
residence  section. 

All  day  long  and  into  the  night  the  brave  men  of  the 
Northern  army  battled  with  desperate  courage  and  splendid 
self-sacrifice  to  save  the  apparently  doomed  capital  of  those 
mistaken  men  who  were  yet  fighting  under  Lee  with  dogged 
obstinacy  to  destroy  this  great  union  of  States.  Had  it 
been  for  their  own  homes  and  firesides  their  fight  could  not 
have  been  more  heroic.  When  midnight  came  the  fires 
were  checked  and  under  control  and  the  city  saved.  The 
horrible  roar  of  the  flames  still  went  up,  with  the  crash- 
ing of  falling  walls  and  explosions  of  ordnance  stores; 
but  the  fire  was  headed  off  and  the  exhausted  troops 
rested. 

As  quickly  as  possible  one  of  the  staff  was  sent  to  Libby 
prison  and  to  Castle  Thunder  to  liberate  any  prisoners  there, 
and  to  organize  a  guard  for  the  care  of  the  thousands  of  Con- 
federate stragglers  and  pillagers  who  were  being  arrested 
by  the  provost  guards  in  clearing  the  streets.  They  hauled 
down  and  brought  to  me  the  garrison  flag  that  had  floated 
over  the  Libby  prison  and  witnessed  the  terrible  sufferings 
of  the  thousands  of  Union  officers  packed  inside  its  walls. 
They  brought  away  also  the  official  record  of  the  prison, 
with  its  tell-tale  confession  of  inhumanity  contained  in  the 


jPtr  ~l< Ss  r«  (      6,tl,st<,,f,       /I 
/  .  / , 

<t,e  if   St«^L      fie  rta«t  fi-j  '  *'f 

"/  Sf'',,,       ~'fri*<',     *r    &%aK.*y 

•  /  ',.  /«,,ss  s?i.Sj-<f/  4£t<^ 


Gi^ate.  ''**&,*;' ,£r  ^  *£*: 

'    t*n*r^«_jt>      <jS^t,*A£^ 

• 


Facsimile  of  the  letter  of  Judge  Ould,  Rebel  Commissioner  of 
Exchange,  to  General  Winder,  referred  to  on  opposite  page,  and 
the  key  to  the  Libby  Prison,  both  now  in  the  possession  of  General 
Edward  H.  Ripley. 


CAPTURE  AND1OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  13 

celebrated  letter  of  Judge  Ould,  commissioner  of  exchange,  to 
General  Winder,  commandant  of  the  Libby  and  Castle  Thun- 
der, in  which  Ould  shamelessly  boasts  of  an  arrangement 
he  had  made  by  which  he  gets  rid  of  a  "lot  of  broken-down 
and  worthless  Yankees  in  exchange  for  Confederates  in  splen- 
did condition."  They  also  brought  the  key  to  the  main 
entrance  to  the  Libby,  which  turned  on  every  Union  officer 
ever  incarcerated  there.  This  key,  comrades,  which  I  hold 
in  my  hand,  is  the  key  of  that  American  Bastile,  and  to  you, 
General  Pierson,  and  to  you  other  companions  who  in  your 
golden  youth  were  thrust  within  that  gloomy  portal,  and 
with  the  rattle  of  this  fatal  key  left  your  young  hopes  be- 
hind, I  extend  in  the  name  of  this  Commandery  our  hearty 
congratulations  that,  having  endured  such  sufferings,  you 
have  survived  to  encounter  this  key  again  after  more  than 
forty  years  amid  such  genial  surroundings.  Later  the  guard 
of  the  executive  mansion  of  Jefferson  Davis  brought  me  an 
infernal  machine  in  the  shape  of  an  imitation  lump  of  coal, 
which  he  took  from  a  writing  desk  used  by  President  Davis. 
This  was  used  to  throw  in  the  coal  bunkers  of  our  war-ships 
to  blow  them  up.  I  have  also  the  great  seal  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, together  with  a  monograph  of  its  history ;  also  the  orig- 
inal designs  submitted  at  Montgomery  for  the  new  flag  of 
the  Confederacy.  All  these  are  in  my  possession  and  to  be 
seen  in  my  collection  of  Civil  War  relics  in  the  Soldiers' 
Memorial  Hall  at  Rutland. 

Among  the  many  trophies  of  the  war  I  did  not  succeed 
in  keeping  were  the  flags  of  the  celebrated  Richmond  Howit- 
zers, which  had  been  presented  to  them  by  the  Richmond 
ladies.  They  seemed  too  heavy,  with  their  rich  embroidery 
of  gold  bullion,  to  flutter  even  in  a  gale  of  wind.  I  have 
never  seen  any  flags  so  extravagant  in  costliness.  They 
must  have  been  the  product  of  the  first  wild  enthusiasm  of 
secession,  before  the  grinding  poverty  had  settled  down 
upon  the  people  and  it  took  thousands  of  Confederate  paper 
money  to  buy  a  pair  of  boots.  One  day  General  Weitzel 
sent  Lieutenant  Graves  of  his  staff  to  say  he  had  heard  of 
them,  and  would  be  pleased  if  I  would  let  them  be  brought 


14  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

up  for  his  inspection.  Graves  promised  to  return  them,  but 
I  never  saw  them  again. 

It  was  with  supreme  satisfaction  that  the  cavalry  swept 
the  streets  of  the  Confederates  and  clapped  them  into  Libby, 
giving  them  a  taste  of  their  own  prisons.  The  next  morning 
when  I  rode  past  it  was  so  full  they  boiled  up  on  the  roof. 

After  opening  headquarters  in  the  city  hall,  my  first 
official  action  was  to  prepare,  print,  and  have  placarded  over 
the  city  an  order  commanding  all  good  citizens  to  aid  the 
military  authorities  in  restoring  order  by  retiring  to  their 
homes,  keeping  closely  within  doors,  and  threatening  with 
arrest  any  citizens  who  should  be  found  on  the  streets  after 
nightfall.  I  ordered  the  daily  papers  to  be  taken  posses- 
sion of  and  prepared  for  issue  under  loyal  management,  and 
directed  patrols  upon  every  street  to  arrest  the  drunken 
mob  of  pillagers  who  were  running  riot,  and  to  bring  the  pil- 
laged property  to  the  city  hall,  where  it  was  taken  by  an 
officer,  receipted  for,  and  piled  away  in  various  back  rooms 
of  the  building,  until  an  immense  and  curious  mass  of  plun- 
der was  accumulated.  My  office  was  at  once  besieged  and 
taken  possession  of  by  crowds  of  terror-stricken  ladies  whose 
minds  had  been  filled  with  the  wicked  and  outrageous  cal- 
umnies heaped  upon  the  Northern  troops  by  the  Richmond 
papers,  and  who  expected  that  the  regime  initiated  by  their 
own  people  was  but  the  prelude  to  the  reign  of  terror  which 
the  "Yankee  monsters"  would  inaugurate  when  settled  in 
the  possession  of  the  city. 

TERROR  OF  THE  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN 

Old  ladies  came  and  threw  themselves  on  my  neck  in 
paroxysms  of  terror  and  implored  me  to  save  them;  others 
clung  to  my  arms  until  they  had  extracted  a  personal  pledge 
from  me;  others  threw  themselves  on  the  floor  and  grasped 
my  knees  until  I  would  promise  them  a  soldier  safeguard 
in  their  own  house.  One  lady,  deeply  veiled,  came  in  great 
excitement,  and  leaning  on  my  shoulder  whispered  in  my 
ear,  "  I  am  the  daughter  of  General  Keim  of  Pennsylvania, 


.  _.___ I 

Infernal  machine,  in  imitation  of  a  lump  of  coal,  taken 

from  the  writing-desk  of  Jefferson  Davis, 

April  3,  1865 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  15 

and  I  appeal  to  you  as  a  Northern  woman  for  protection." 
I  replied  warmly,  "  As  a  Northern  woman  you  ought  to  know 
that  you  do  not  need  to  make  such  an  appeal."  I  gave  her 
at  random  the  first  private  soldier  I  could  put  my  hands  on 
as  a  safeguard,  and  sent  him  home  with  her  to  be  respon- 
sible for  the  safety  of  the  block  in  which  she  lived.  Of  her 
experience  with  this  average  Northern  soldier  I  will  later  on 
tell  the  story. 

General  Sterns  of  Longstreet's  corps  left  a  letter  with 
his  wife  confiding  her  and  her  children  to  the  care  of  the 
officer  commanding  the  victorious  Northern  troops,  saying 
he  intrusted  them  to  him  as  soldier  to  soldier. 

Another  lady,  dressed  in  the  deepest  weeds,  shivering 
like  an  aspen  leaf  with  terror,  her  face  concealed  with  a 
crape  veil,  whispered  in  my  ear,  "  I  am  the  widow  of  Gen- 
eral Gracie  [a  Confederate  general  killed  shortly  before  at 
Petersburg],  and  I  appeal  to  you  as  a  soldier's  widow  to  a 
brother  soldier  to  protect  me  and  my  fatherless  children." 
She  then  told  me  that  she  had  a  large  family  of  young  chil- 
dren, that  they  had  had  nothing  to  eat  for  several  weeks  but 
bean  soup,  and  that  to  cook  it  they  had  to  burn  up  their 
bannister  rail  and  other  portions  of  their  house.  I  turned 
her  over  to  the  care  of  my  old  college  tutor  Millard,  and  his 
Christian  Commission,  whom  I  had  installed  in  the  room 
across  the  hall  from  my  office  in  the  city  hall,  and  who  took 
care  for  me  of  the  crowds  of  ladies  who  applied  for  protec- 
tion and  aid;  rendering  me  most  effective  and  timely  ser- 
vice for  several  days  by  writing  safeguards,  which  they 
brought  to  me  to  sign,  the  violation  of  which  by  a  soldier 
was  death.  I  afterward  sent  an  aide  to  visit  Mrs.  Gracie 
and  ascertain  her  most  pressing  necessities,  and  supplied  her 
with  rations  from  my  mess  until  I  was  able  to  get  her  trans- 
portation to  her  friends  in  the  North. 

The  staff  officers  assigned  to  the  distribution  and  domi- 
ciling of  guards  in  the  private  residences  sent  soldiers  home 
with  the  ladies  who  had  thronged  headquarters,  aiming  to 
place  a  soldier  in  the  centre  house  of  each  two  opposite 
blocks,  making  him  responsible  for  their  safety.  These 


l6  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

safeguards  remained  in  these  families  from  ten  days  to  two 
weeks,  in  most  cases  treated  as  guests  rather  than  as  guards. 
They  were  men  taken  indiscriminately  from  regiments  of 
Wisconsin,  Connecticut,  New  Hampshire,  northern  and 
central  New  York,  and  from  Brooklyn,  and  were  therefore 
a  fair  representation  of  the  soldiers  of  Devens's  division  and 
consequently  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Army  Corps.  I  not  only 
never  heard  a  complaint  of  any  rudeness  or  roughness,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  there  was  unstinted  praise  of  their  civil  as 
well  as  military  qualities  and  bearing,  so  unexpected  in 
them  by  the  Richmond  ladies. 

SOLDIERLY   BEARING   OF   THE   UNION   MEN. 

And  here  I  may  illustrate  by  relating  the  story  of  one, 
as  told  me  by  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wirt  Robinson,  the  latter 
of  whom  was  the  daughter  of  General  Keim  of  Reading,  Pa., 
referred  to  earlier.  I  personally  escorted  Mrs.  Robinson  to 
the  hall  and  ordered  the  soldier  standing  at  the  head  of  the 
line  to  sling  his  knapsack  and  go  with  the  lady  to  her  home 
and  be  responsible  for  its  safety  and  the  houses  of  her  neigh- 
bors. He  shouldered  his  rifle  and  fell  in  behind  her  as  I 
bade  her  good  morning.  There  was  no  personal  selection, 
no  especial  and  minute  instructions  as  to  his  duties.  Mr. 
Robinson  afterward  told  me  that  upon  entering  the  house 
the  guard  asked  where  he  could  deposit  his  knapsack  and 
his  three  days'  cooked  rations  where  they  would  be  least  in 
the  way,  and  where  he  could  sit.  He  was  given  a  seat  in 
the  hall,  where  he  remained  for  some  little  time,  after  which 
he  remarked  to  Mr.  Robinson  that  he  saw  he  had  a  library, 
and  if  it  would  not  inconvenience  any  one  it  would  be  a  pleas- 
ure to  him  to  sit  there  and  make  use  of  the  books,  as  it  had 
been  a  long  time  since  he  had  had  access  to  any.  Mr.  Rob- 
inson politely  told  him,  of  course,  the  whole  house  was  at  his 
disposal.  Several  hours  later,  hearing  nothing  from  his  once 
dreaded  Yankee  invader,  he  stole  quietly  into  the  library 
to  find  him  deeply  immersed  in  a  very  serious  metaphysical 
work;  he  engaged  him  in  conversation,  and  to  his  profound 


Facsimile  of  the  cover  of  the  Order  Book  of  the  Libby  Prison. 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  17 

surprise  found  this  bronzed,  war-worn  veteran,  private  sol- 
dier of  the  North,  was  a  college  graduate  and  a  professional 
man.  Although  they  had  little  to  offer,  and  his  haversack 
was  as  substantial  as  their  meagre  Confederate  larder,  they 
welcomed  him  as  an  honored  guest,  and  gladly  gave  him 
their  best  hospitality.  The  next  day  I  sent  them  supplies 
from  my  mess,  and  in  return  Mr.  Robinson,  who  was  an  old- 
fashioned  bon-vivant,  and  had  not  the  heart  to  literally  obey 
the  stern  edict  of  the  city  officials  to  destroy  all  wines  and 
liquors  before  the  Yankee  vandals  arrived,  having  hidden 
store  of  priceless  old  Serchal  Madeiras,  which  had  made  the 
East  Indian  voyage  many  times  in  Richmond  merchant 
vessels,  brought  it  out  and  promptly  sent  me  a  carboy. 

Referring  again  to  the  experience  of  the  Richmond  ladies 
with  the  private  soldiers  of  the  North,  Mrs.  Gracie,  the  widow 
of  General  Gracie,  of  the  Confederate  army,  in  a  note  to 
me  wrote:  "Your  guard  is  quite  a  literary  character,  and  I 
have  been  searching  among  all  the  old  books  I  have  to  find 
him  something  to  read.  We  have  had  no  use  for  novels 
in  the  Confederacy:  alas!  our  lives  have  proved  novels  of 
themselves." 

Again  later:  "Your  guard  has  proved  himself  a  treasure. 
I  could  not  do  without  him,  he  is  so  efficient.  I  cannot 
thank  you  enough  for  giving  him  to  me;  indeed,  between 
him,  the  nice  candles,  and  a  respectable  fire,  which  you  so 
kindly  sent  me,  I  am  beginning  to  feel  a  little  civilized." 
I  could  give  many  more  such  acknowledgments  of  their 
admiration  of  our  soldiers. 

On  the  other  hand,  from  women  of  the  commoner  class, 
we  had  experiences  not  unlike  those  of  our  troops  at  the 
capture  of  New  Orleans.  While  they  were  uncertain  what 
the  Yankees  were  going  to  do  with  them,  frightened,  and 
clamoring  for  our  protection,  they  were  polite  enough  in 
their  manners ;  but  as  soon  as  they  realized  we  were  not  ruf- 
fians, but  soldiers,  respecting  their  sex,  their  behavior 
quickly  changed,  and  many  of  them  assumed  an  insulting 
manner  toward  our  troops  and  our  flag. 

The  1 3th  regiment  of  New  Hampshire,  composed  of  an 


1 8  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

unusually  fine  lot  of  New  England  men,  was  quartered  in  a 
large  market  on  lower  Main  Street,  and  particularly  annoyed 
by  these  very  ungrateful  and  unwomanly  demonstrations. 
Its  colors,  state  and  national,  were  hung  out  from  its  porch, 
guarded  by  a  sentry,  who  paced  his  beat  along  the  side- 
walk ;  and  although  they  owed  the  safety  of  their  persons, 
their  property,  and  the  preservation  of  their  city  to  the  gen- 
erous and  gallant  efforts  of  the  men  who  fought  under  those 
colors,  many  of  these  women  would  pull  up  their  skirts,  wrap 
them  carefully  to  one  side,  and  with  every  expression  of 
loathing  and  hatred  go  out  into  the  middle  of  the  street  to 
avoid  passing  under  them. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Norman  Smith,  commanding  the  regi- 
ment, a  brave  officer,  who  was  seriously  wounded  in  the 
famous  assault  on  Fort  Harrison,  under  General Stannard,  was 
ordered  to  detail  some  officer  tactful  and  firm  to  escort  every 
woman  who  attempted  this  back,  and  quietly,  and  with 
more  politeness  than  they  were  entitled  to  receive,  make 
them  understand  that  we  would  tolerate  no  insults  to  our 
uniform  or  colors,  but  that  they  must  cease  such  demon- 
strations or  encounter  severe  measures.  This  soon  had  its 
effect  and  we  saw  no  more  of  it. 

A   NIGHT   WITH   THE    FLAMES. 

At  about  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  got  sufficient  respite 
from  the  exertions  of  the  day  to  get  into  the  saddle  and  make 
an  inspection  of  my  command.  Accompanied  by  my  staff, 
I  rode  through  the  sleeping  city  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
Not  a  human  being  was  encountered  of  all  the  destroying 
mob  who  had  filled  it  to  overflowing  in  the  morning.  On 
every  alternate  corner  stood  the  motionless  form  of  a  sentry; 
not  a  ray  of  light  from  a  house  gave  hint  of  life  within,  ex- 
cept at  a  corner  grocery,  where  light  was  detected  through 
a  crack  in  the  shutters.  The  sharp  rap  of  an  aide's  sabre 
hilt  on  the  door  brought  out  a  panic-stricken  German  gro- 
cer, who  had  been  too  frightened  to  go  to  bed,  and  who  was 
sitting  up  with  the  few  worldly  goods  he  had  left.  For  hours 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  19 

we  passed  up  and  down  the  streets,  which  echoed  with  the 
clatter  of  our  horses'  hoofs  and  the  jingle  of  our  sabres, 
astonished  at  the  discipline  which  had  been  established  in 
so  few  hours  out  of  chaos.  Returning  we  left  the  brigade 
headquarters  cavalry  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  the  men  in 
reliefs  at  their  horses'  heads,  and  our  horses  saddled  and 
bridled  ready  for  any  alarm. 

It  was  near  morning  when  we  gave  ourselves  up  to  rest 
in  the  house  of  Mrs.  Allen,  which  we  had  selected  for  our 
domestic  headquarters,  and  enjoyed  the  delicious  and  novel 
intoxication  of  rest  on  real  beds  under  a  roof  after  three  long 
years  of  campaigning.  This  was  not  altogether  a  realiza- 
tion of  our  dream  of  domestic  repose,  however,  as  we  dare 
not  undress  or  even  pull  off  our  boots  or  lay  aside  our  arms. 

There  has  been  much  written  on  the  subject  of  Ewell's 
responsibility  for  this  terrible  war  measure,  and  I  have  this 
autograph  letter  from  his  brother,  Prof.  Benj.  S.  Ewell,  of 
William  and  Mary  College,  dated  Richmond,  April,  1865- 
It  reads  as  follows : 

SIR: — In  relation  to  General  Ewell  and  the  late  disastrous 
conflagration  in  this  city,  I  ask  to  make  the  following  state- 
ment: After  the  fall  of  Savannah,  Ga.,  the  Confederate  Congress 
passed  a  law  requiring  officers  in  command  to  destroy  all  cotton, 
tobacco,  and  other  valuable  products  liable  to  capture.  Some 
weeks  ago  General  Ewell  received  official  notice  of  this  law,  and 
with  it  an  order  to  prepare  for  the  destruction  of  the  tobacco, 
etc.,  stored  in  Richmond,  that  could  not  be  carried  away,  the 
destruction  to  be  completed  in  the  event  of  evacuation.  He 
immediately  notified  the  parties  concerned  of  the  order,  directing 
all  tobacco  not  removed  to  be  deposited  in  some  place  or  places 
where  it  could  be  destroyed  without  danger  to  the  city.  The 
details  were  intrusted  to  an  officer  of  his  command.  For  the 
fire  in  no  way  is  General  Ewell  responsible,  as  in  the  execution 
of  a  military  order  in  respect  to  which  he  had  no  discretion  he 
sought  by  every  means  in  his  power  to  provide  against  such  a 
catastrophe  as  followed. 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

BENJAMIN  S.  EWELL. 


20  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

My  answer  to  this  was  simple  enough.  General  Ewell 
deliberately  chose  to  instruct  his  officers  to  execute  this 
order  though  it  endangered  the  lives  of  thousands  of  helpless 
women  and  children  and  his  sick  and  wounded  comrades 
of  Lee's  army,  who  crowded  the  city,  rather  than  risk  that 
more  or  less  cotton  and  tobacco  should  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  hated  Yankees  when  the  value  of  it  was  not  of  any  im- 
portance to  the  North  as  a  war  measure.  He  invited  a  holo- 
caust of  his  own  friends  to  keep  us  out  of  a  million  or  two 
dollars'  worth  of  cotton  and  tobacco. 

Every  officer  in  command  must  exercise  at  times  his 
own  judgment  as  to  the  possibility  or  desirability  of  execut- 
ing even  very  stringent  orders. 

VALUABLE  RECORDS  SAVED. 

Among  the  acts  of  vandalism  we  were  happily  able  to 
arrest,  before  irreparable  damage  was  done,  was  the  sacking 
of  the  Virginia  State  Library.  An  officer  entering  it  found 
the  floor  covered  with  the  colonial  and  other  records  in 
which  it  was  so  rich.  They  had  been  wantonly  taken  from 
their  cases  and  thrown  around.  A  guard  was  at  once  posted 
over  it  with  imperative  orders  to  let  no  person  pass  without 
written  permission  from  headquarters,  and  when,  several 
days  later,  I  tried  to  enter  it,  it  was  with  difficulty  I  could 
persuade  my  own  guard  to  let  me  pass.  The  floor  was  yet 
covered  with  an  interesting  mass  of  time-worn  papers.  I 
believe  little  real  damage  was  done  to  these  valuable  archives. 

The  Confederate  archives,  such  as  were  left  in  the  hur- 
ried retreat,  were  the  most  interesting  and  important  spoils 
of  our  capture,  and  the  first  things  sought  for  and  guarded, 
together  with  the  contents  of  the  telegraph  offices.  These 
I  some  days  later,  on  the  arrival  of  Chas.  A.  Dana,  Assistant 
Secretary  of  War,  turned  over  to  him.  One  half  of  the  large 
accumulation  of  copies  of  the  Confederate  telegraph  dis- 
patches were  found,  the  other  half  have  never  been  found. 
They  were  said  to  have  been  carried  off  by  a  woman  on  the 
day  of  our  entry. 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  21 

A  report  having  come  to  me  that  Mrs.  Robert  E.  Lee,  who 
had  left  the  city  hurriedly,  was  very  ill  and  wished  to  return 
to  her  home,  I  sent  an  ambulance  to  assist  her;  and  after 
Appomattox  and  General  Lee's  home-coming  I  arranged  to 
protect  him  as  much  as  possible  from  the  annoyance  of  the 
curious  public  which  had  begun  to  throng  from  the  North 
to  this  famous  stronghold  of  the  Confederacy. 

PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  VISIT. 

As  fast  as  possible  the  Confederate  prisoners  were  pa- 
roled and  urged  to  lay  aside  their  gray  uniforms,  take  to 
citizen's  dress,  and  aid  in  the  maintenance  of  order,  which 
they  very  generally  and  in  good  spirit  did.  They  were 
mostly  men  who  on  the  abandonment  of  their  capital  saw 
that  further  fighting  was  useless  and  upon  the  retreat  of 
Ewell's  corps  quietly  stayed  behind.  One  of  these  came  to 
my  quarters  on  the  day  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  arrival  on  Admiral 
Porter's  flag-ship,  Malvern,  April  4th,  and  begged  an 
interview.  The  streets  were  crowded  during  the  daytime 
with  excited  throngs  of  negroes  and  whites,  and  we  were 
very  uneasy  at  Mr.  Lincoln's  insistence  upon  visiting  all 
interesting  points.  We  tried  to  make  him  consent  to  an 
escort,  but  he  would  not  allow  it,  and  strolled  through 
the  city  like  a  private  citizen,  followed  by  crowds  of 
people,  white  and  black.  It  was  a  very  dangerous  thing 
to  do,  and  we  were  obliged,  unknown  to  him,  to  sur- 
round him  with  a  crowd  of  detectives  in  citizen's  dress, 
heavily  armed.  His  reception  by  the  emancipated  negroes 
was  dramatic  in  the  extreme.  The  War  and  Navy  Depart- 
ments were  particularly  anxious  as  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  personal 
safety,  as  the  following  dispatches  illustrate : 

MR.    LINCOLN    CAUTIONED. 

I. 

CITY  POINT,  April  3,  8:30  A.M. 
EDWIN  M.  STANTON,  Secretary  of  War: 

General  Grant  reports  Petersburg  evacuated  and  he  is  confi- 


22  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

dent  Richmond  is  taken.     He  is  pushing  forward  to  cut  off  the 
retreating  army.     I  start  to  join  him  in  a  few  minutes. 

A.  LINCOLN. 
II. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  April  3,  10:30  A.M. 
To  THE  PRESIDENT: 

I  congratulate  you  and  the  nation  on  the  glorious  news  in 
your  telegram  just  received.  Allow  me  respectfully  to  ask  you 
to  consider  whether  you  ought  to  expose  the  nation  to  the 
consequences  of  any  disaster  to  yourself  in  the  pursuit  of  a 
treacherous  and  dangerous  enemy  like  the  rebel  army.  If  it  was 
a  question  concerning  yourself  only  I  should  not  presume  to  say 
a  word.  Commanding  generals  are  in  the  line  of  their  duty 
in  running  such  risks ;  but  is  the  political  head  of  a  nation  in 
the  same  condition? 

EDWIN  M.  STANTON, 

Secretary  of  War. 
III. 

CITY  POINT,  April  3,  5:00  P.M. 
EDWIN  M.  STANTON,  Secretary  of  War : 

Thanks  for  your  caution,  but  I  have  already  been  to  Peters- 
burg, staid  with  General  Grant  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  returned 
here.  It  is  certain  that  Richmond  is  in  our  hands  and  I  think 
I  will  go  there  to-morrow.  I  will  take  care  of  myself. 

A.  LINCOLN. 

"  I  will  take  care  of  myself."  In  those  six  words  lay  the 
fate  of  the  great  Emancipator. 

Admiral  Porter  in  his  book  writes : 

The  President  was  received  by  General  Weitzel,  whose  head- 
quarters were  in  the  house  of  the  fugitive  President  of  the 
Confederacy.  He  took  us  to  the  state-house,  the  Libby  prison, 
and  the  public  offices  which  had  escaped  the  terrible  conflagra- 
tion of  the  day  before.  Late  in  the  afternoon  we  were  greatly 
relieved  to  get  the  President  safely  back  on  board  the  Malvern. 
On  Wednesday  and  Thursday  of  the  following  week  I  was  com- 
pleting my  final  dispositions  for  my  departure  from  City  Point 
for  Washington,  which  was  hastened  by  a  feeling  of  nervous 
apprehension  for  the  President,  the  result  of  reflecting  upon  the 
risks  he  ran. 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  23 

The  Confederate  soldier  alluded  to  above,  who  came  to 
my  headquarters  and  begged  to  have  an  interview  with  me 
on  a  very  important  subject,  was  a  more  than  usually  intel- 
ligent and  fine-appearing  man  in  uniform,  by  the  name  of 
Snyder. 

He  began  by  saying  that  he  was  an  enlisted  man  in 
Raine's  torpedo  bureau,  an  organization  of  the  Confederate 
secret  service,  which  had  among  its  duties  such  services  as 
the  blowing  up  of  our  magazines  and  our  river  steamers, 
raids  on  our  rear  like  the  St.  Albans  raid,  firing  of  Northern 
cities,  like  the  simultaneous  attempts  on  the  Fifth  Avenue 
and  many  other  New  York  hotels,  the  blowing  up  of  the 
powder  boats  at  City  Point,  the  distribution  of  small-pox 
clothes,  etc.,  etc.,  in  fact  all  kinds  of  deviltry  and  irregular 
warfare,  calculated  to  create  panic  or  discontent  in  the  rear 
of  the  Union  armies.  Their  method  was  to  plan  an  expedi- 
tion and  detail  certain  men  who  never  knew  what  they 
were  to  do  until  they  arrived  at  a  designated  rendezvous  and 
received  their  orders. 

A    CONSPIRACY   TO   TAKE    LINCOLN'S    LIFE. 

With  the  capture  of  Richmond  and  the  abandonment  of  the 
Petersburg  lines,  he  believed  the  war  was  hopeless  and  not 
another  gun  should  be  fired.  Indeed  his  conscience  told  him 
every  life  taken  now  was  in  a  way  a  wanton  murder,  and  every 
right-minded  man  should  strive  to  avert  the  shedding  of  another 
drop  of  blood.  He  had  seen  with  the  greatest  anxiety  President 
Lincoln  expose  himself  to  a  fearful  risk  in  walking  so  carelessly 
unattended  and  unprotected  through  the  streets  filled  with  peo- 
ple whose  hearts  in  their  defeat  were  bitter,  and  it  would  be  but 
human  nature  for  some  one  to  take  the  opportunity  to  revenge 
the  lost  cause  on  the  person  of  the  man  who  represented  the 
triumphant  cause  of  the  Union. 

He  then  said  that  what  he  was  particularly  anxious  to 
tell  me  was  this : 

He  knew  that  a  party  had  just  been  dispatched  from  Raine's 
torpedo  bureau  on  a  secret  mission,  which  vaguely  he  understood 


24  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

was  aimed  at  the  head  of  the  Yankee  government,  and  he  wished 
to  put  Mr.  Lincoln  on  his  guard  and  have  impressed  upon  him  that 
just  at  this  moment  he  believed  him  to  be  in  great  danger  of 
violence  and  he  should  take  the  greater  care  of  himself.  He 
could  not  give  names  or  facts,  as  the  work  of  his  department  was 
secret,  and  no  man  knew  what  his  comrade  was  sent  to  do,  but 
of  this  he  was  convinced,  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
was  in  great  danger. 

Upon  expressing  willingness  to  make  a  statement  and 
swear  to  it,  I  called  in  Captain  Staniels,  acting  assistant 
adjutant-general,  who  took  down  his  statement  under  oath. 
I  then  told  him  I  should  feel  obliged  to  keep  him  in  custody 
until  I  could  arrange  an  interview  with  President  Lincoln.  I 
wrote  the  President  a  note  and  sent  it  at  once  aboard  the  Mal- 
vern,  asking  an  interview  at  his  earliest  leisure  on  an  important 
matter.  It  was  then  about  10  o'clock  in  the  evening.  In 
reply  he  wrote  me  a  personal  note,  saying  he  would  see  me 
at  9  o'clock  the  next  morning.  I  was  promptly  on  hand, 
taking  Snyder  and  his  statement  with  me. 

A   MEMORABLE    STATEMENT. 

Admiral  Porter's  boat  was  waiting  at  the  dock.  The 
President  received  me  most  cordially  in  the  Admiral's  cabin, 
and  then  sat  down  on  the  long  cushioned  seat  running  along 
the  side  of  the  ship  behind  the  dining  table,  I  taking  my  seat 
opposite  him.  Little  Tad ,  who  was  then  a  small  and  very  rest- 
less boy,  amused  himself  by  running  up  and  down  the  length 
of  the  sofa  behind  his  father  and  jumping  over  his  back  in 
passing.  As  I  progressed  in  the  explanation  of  my  errand,  Mr. 
Lincoln  let  his  head  droop  upon  his  hands  as  his  elbows 
rested  on  the  table,  his  hands  supporting  his  chin  and  clasp- 
ing either  cheek  in  an  expression  of  the  most  heart-breaking 
weariness,  his  great,  melancholy  eyes  filling  the  cabin  with 
the  mournful  light  they  emitted.  I  read  the  paper;  I  urged 
upon  him  the  reasonableness  of  the  warning,  the  good  faith 
and  apparent  integrity  of  the  man,  and  to  make  the  impres- 
sion deeper,  if  possible,  I  begged  him  to  let  me  bring  him  in 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  25 

and  talk  with  him,  but  it  was  all  to  no  purpose.  Finally 
he  lifted  his  head,  and,  casting  upon  me  that  face  above  all 
human  faces  that  of  a  "man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
with  grief,"  he  said:  "No,  General  Ripley,  it  is  impos- 
sible for  me  to  adopt  and  follow  your  suggestions.  I  deeply 
appreciate  the  feeling  which  has  led  you  to  urge  them 
on  me, — but  I  must  go  on  as  I  have  begun  in  the  course 
marked  out  for  me,  for  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  believe  that 
any  human  being  lives  who  would  do  me  any  harm."  The 
interview  then  ended.  He  was  so  worn,  emaciated,  and 
pallid  that  he  looked  more  like  a  disembodied  spirit  than 
the  successful  leader  of  a  great  nation  in  its  hour  of  supreme 
triumph.  I  never  saw  him  again;  he  left  Richmond  that 
afternoon,  and  City  Point  for  Washington  in  a  few  days.  My 
warning  to  him  was  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  April;  on 
the  night  of  the  i5th — a  short  ten  days  after — he  lay  in 
his  blood  at  Washington,  a  victim  of  the  wolfish  desire  for 
revenge  against  which  Snyder  so  honestly  and  prophetically 
warned  him.  I  have  so  often  thought  of  the  web  of  fate  I 
held  in  my  impotent  hands  that  morning,  and  what  would 
have  happened  to  the  destinies  of  this  great,  new  nation 
which  has  sprung  up  out  of  the  blood  and  agony  of  that 
desperate  conflict  if  I  had  been  able  to  persuade  the  great 
President  to  let  his  friends  protect  him  until  the  first  rage 
of  the  enemy  over  defeat  had  expended  itself  and  the 
realization  had  come  in  time  to  them  that  he,  and  his  great 
and  generous  General  Grant  were  the  best  and  wisest  friends 
they  had.  Would  the  miseries  and  crimes  of  the  reconstruc- 
tion period  have  been  escaped  under  his  patient,  loving 
leadership,  or  would  it  have  proved  too  great  a  task  to  bring 
the  sections  together  and  weld  them  into  a  sound,  healthy 
body,  and  the  great  war  President  have  lived  to  have  been 
robbed  of  the  lofty  prestige  in  which  he  died? 

No  man  can  answer  that  question,  but  I  have  never  had 
any  doubt  of  his  holding  a  higher  place  in  the  Pantheon  of 
immortals  because  I  failed,  nor  any  doubt  of  the  lengthened 
period  of  the  healing  of  the  wounds  of  the  nation  because 
he  yielded  to  his  conviction  that  he  was  following  a  path 


26  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

marked  out  for  him  by  a  higher  power.  Still  I  would  like 
to  feel  that  I  had  been  able  to  persuade  and  save  him  from 
his  tragic  fate. 

By  Wednesday  much  interest  began  to  be  felt  in  the  open- 
ing of  the  churches  on  Sunday,  and  the  question  asked,  "  How 
will  the  ministers  conduct  service  under  the  new  order  of 
things?"  I  therefore  sent  an  invitation  to  all  these  gentle- 
men to  meet  me  at  my  headquarters  that  afternoon  to  ex- 
press their  views.  They  all  came,  to  the  number  of  twenty 
or  more,  representing  every  creed.  It  was  not  difficult  to 
come  to  an  understanding  with  the  pastors  who  had  no  es- 
tablished form  of  prayer,  but  the  rectors  of  the  Episcopal 
churches,  Messrs.  Minnigerode,  Peterkin,  and  others,  took 
the  ground  that  as  their  form  of  prayer,  established  by  the 
church  of  the  South,  required  prayer  for  President  Davis, 
no  power  could  change  it  except  that  which  created  it.  The 
controversy  was  warm  and  amusing  to  the  onlooker,  as  I 
sat  in  the  middle  of  the  parlor  of  Mrs.  Allen's  house,  a  mere 
boy,  with  twenty  or  more  reverend  gentlemen  laying  down 
the  ecclesiastical  law  to  me.  I  cut  it  short  by  saying  to 
Rev.  Dr.  Minnigerode,  who  did  the  most  of  the  talking:  "  You 
forget,  sir,  that  Richmond  is  again  a  part  of  the  United 
States,  and  under  martial  law  civil  and  ecclesiastical  law  is 
superseded.  The  churches  will  all  be  open  on  Sunday,  will, 
no  doubt,  be  thronged  with  an  unusually  large  attendance, 
and  the  services  will  be  conducted  with  regard  to  loyalty  to 
the  United  States.  Such  of  you  as  recognize  this  reasonable 
necessity  will  not  be  interfered  with,  but  I  have  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  clergymen  to  assign  to  such  pulpits  as  may  be 
needed  to  conduct  loyal  services."  They  then  retired,  and 
I  crossed  the  hall  to  the  opposite  parlor,  where  the  theat- 
rical managers  were  assembled,  to  arrange  for  the  opening 
of  the  theatres. 

CONTROVERSY   WITH   THE   RICHMOND   MINISTERS. 

In  the  morning  I  received  from  Dr.  Minnigerode  a  long 
and  warm  protest  against  any  interference  by  the  state 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  27 

with  the  church,  vehemently  denying  my  right  to  place 
any  minister  in  his  pulpit.  This  paper  is  in  the  War  Re- 
cords, where  it  is  published  to  complete  the  history  of  the 
heated  controversy  between  Secretary  Stanton,  Assistant 
Secretary  Dana,  General  Weitzel,  and  myself,  on  the  subject 
of  the  services  to  be  held. 

April  pth  Dana  telegraphed  Stanton: 

The  churches  have  all  been  well  filled  to-day.  The  ladies, 
especially,  have  attended  in  great  numbers.  The  regular  clergy 
have  prayed,  almost  without  exception.  The  sermons  were 
devout  and  not  political.  The  city  is  perfectly  quiet,  and  there 
is  more  security  for  persons  and  property  than  has  existed  here 
for  many  months. 

This  was  Secretary  Dana's  tribute  to  the  splendid  work  of 
the  First  Brigade. 

On  April  loth  Dana  telegraphed  to  Stanton: 

Permission  was  given  to  open  all  churches  yesterday  on  the 
general  condition  that  no  disloyal  sentiments  should  be  uttered. 
No  especial  authority  was  given  to  omit  the  prayer  for  the  Presi- 
dent, but  it  was  distinctly  understood  that  that  prayer  would 
not  be  said  in  Episcopal  churches.  As  I  have  already  reported, 
Weitzel  is  of  the  opinion  that  this  prayer  should  be  required  of 
all  those  denominations  of  whose  service  it  forms  a  regular  part, 
but  on  the  urgent  advice  of  Shepley,  military  governor,  and  Brevet 
Brigadier-General  Ripley,  he  did  not  give  a  positive  order  enforc- 
ing it. 

This  was  a  deliberate  untruth.  The  reverse  was  the  fact, 
as  will  be  seen  by  Dr.  Minnigerode's  protest  to  me.  The 
War  Records  contain  long  despatches  on  the  subject,  too 
long  to  copy  here. 

Secretary  Stanton  approved  my  position,  but  Weitzel, 
who  had  first  revoked  my  order,  when  he  found  Stanton  was 
angry  with  him,  deliberately  threw  the  responsibility  and 
blame  on  me.  Dana,  detecting  it,  telegraphed  Stanton,  "  I 
report  the  fact,  confessing  that  it  shakes  a  good  deal  my 
confidence  in  Weitzel." 


28  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

AT   THEATRE. 

My  conference  with  the  theatre  managers  was  followed 
by  the  following  letter  from  R.  D'Arcy  Ogden  of  the  New 
Richmond  theater: 

GENERAL  EDWARD  H.  RIPLEY,  Commander  U.  S.  Forces. 

SIR: — I  have  at  last  succeeded  in  subduing  the  somewhat 
chaotic  condition  of  my  corps  dramatiqite  and  I  desire,  with 
your  approval,  on  Monday,  April  loth,  to  give  a  "Grand  Enter- 
tainment," something  I  hope  worthy  of  your  and  the  other  gen- 
erals' appreciation.  The  company  is  somewhat  augmented,  and 
on  Monday  I  present  Macbeth  in  which  for  scenic  and  musical  ef- 
fects I  have  been  told  I  have  succeeded  as  well  as  any  of  the  New 
York  or  European  theatres.  With  your  approval  I  desire  to  decor- 
ate the  boxes  you  and  the  other  generals  will  do  me  the  honor  to 
occupy  with  headquarters  flags,  etc.,  and  arranging  an  overture 
entirely  national,  and  would  like  to  know  the  precise  moment, 
as  nearly  as  possible,  you  would  enter  the  theatre. 

The  affair  fully  answered  all  D'Arcy  Ogden's  anticipa- 
tions. Probably  the  New  Richmond  Theatre  never  saw  so 
brilliant  a  scene.  Our  brigade  and  division  headquarters 
supplied  him  with  all  the  national  colors  he  could  use,  and 
the  audience,  mostly  in  uniform,  was  large,  brilliant,  and 
enthusiastic. 

LINCOLN'S  DEATH. 

On  the  1 5th  of  April,  order  being  completely  restored, 
General  Patrick,  Provost-Marshal  General  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  Richmond 
and  my  brigade  was  moved  out  into  the  inner  line  of  works 
west  of  the  city. 

1  By  the  sad  coincidence  of  last  week's  terrible  tragedy 
my  mind  is  painfully  swept  back  to  that  April  morning 
forty-one  years  ago  when  a  gallant  young  captain  came 
to  me  from  General  Patrick  to  arrange  the  taking  over  of  the 

>rCapt.  Philip  Schuyler  was  killed  in  a  railroad  accident  on  the 
Southern  Railway  Nov.  29,  1906,  and  his  body  consumed  in  the  burning 
wreck. 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  2 9 

command — until  but  yesterday  a  highly  honored  member  of 
this  Commandery,  a  brave  soldier,  a  model  citizen,  an  ideal 
American  gentleman,  who,  whether  fighting  to  preserve  the 
nation  his  famous  ancestor  and  namesake  fought  so  well  to 
establish,  or  in  the  everyday  work  of  a  useful  citizenship, 
always  through  a  well-spent  life  living  up  to  the  highest 
traditions  of  his  honored  name:  Philip  Schuyler,  Captain 
on  the  staff  of  the  Provost-Marshal  General  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

On  Sunday,  the  i6th,  I  was  in  the  saddle  from  early  in 
the  morning  until  noon,  riding  from  regiment  to  regiment, 
following  up  the  Sunday  morning  inspections.  When  these 
were  finished  I  rode  into  the  city  to  pay  my  formal  respects 
to  General  Devens,  our  division  commander,  as  was  the  cus- 
tom on  Sundays.  He  occupied  the  governor's  mansion. 
While  here  we  were  stunned  and  panic-stricken  by  our  first 
intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  and, 
as  first  reported,  of  the  whole  Cabinet.  It  had  been  with- 
held from  the  troops  twenty-four  hours.  For  the  first  few 
hours  I  felt  that  we  were,  like  the  Roman  legions,  holding 
the  government  in  our  hands;  that  in  us,  the  armies  of  the 
Potomac,  the  James,  and  the  Tennessee,  were  the  Country 
and  the  Government,  and  that  we,  thank  God,  were  yet 
complete  and  in  the  full  pride  of  our  power  able  to  control 
the  destiny  of  the  Republic.  I  rode  back  in  profound  dejec- 
tion, thinking  of  Snyder  and  my  fateful  interview  with  the 
President  so  quickly  stricken. 

On  Saturday,  the  i5th,  I  had  written  to  my  friends  in  the 
north: 

The  war  is  over  and  we  all  feel  as  though  we  might  be  mus- 
tered out  at  any  moment.  I  myself  feel  my  occupation  gone; 
do  not  expect  to  see  an  armed  rebel  or  again  hear  a  hostile  shot 
fired.  Lee's  army  is  crowding  in  here,  but  we  feel  no  more  their 
presence  than  as  though  they  were  the  Rutland  Lightguard,  and 
now  it  is  all  that  left  of  that  once  grand  and  glorious  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia.  What  a  terrible  fate  has  like  a  lightning 
stroke  fallen  upon  it. 

Shortly  after  this  I  took  the  brigade  across  the  James  to 


30  CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND 

the  Broad  Rock  race-course,  three  miles  south  of  Manchester, 
where  we  went  into  tents  again. 

From  here  it  began  to  be  scattered.  On  the  2oth  of  May 
I  wrote: 

Weitzel's  colored  corps  sailed  last  evening  for  Texas  25,000 
strong.  We  are  breaking  up  and  floating  apart  like  a  weakened 
raft.  I  have  but  three  of  my  regiments  with  me.  The  igth 
Wisconsin  is  at  Fredericksburg,  the  8ist  New  York  at  Williams- 
burg,  and  the  gSih  New  York  at  Danville,  but  the  brigade  is  not 
destroyed  and  they  report  yet  to  me. 

I  feel  very  strongly  toward  this  approaching  short  and  charm- 
ing month  of  June,  that  is  to  cap  and  make  complete  my  three 
years  of  war  experience.  Every  day  that  passes  and  brings  me 
nearer  to  a  peace  footing  and  citizenship  teaches  me  how  strongly 
— more  strongly  than  I  ever  dreamed — I  have  become  wedded  to 
this  stirring,  heroic  life ;  and  yet  it  has  become  painfully  monoto- 
nous, and  when,  day  before  yesterday,  upon  the  arrival  of  Gov- 
ernor Pierrepoint,  a  salute  was  fired,  and  the  roar  of  the  first  gun 
broke  the  oppressive  and  stifling  silence  of  the  last  two  months, 
regiment  after  regiment  sprang  to  its  feet  and  gave  cheer  after 
cheer  of  gratified  relief. 

Those  who  argue  that  henceforth  the  4th  of  July  will  be  dull 
and  stupid  are  wrong.  The  guns  of  the  4th  will  stir  the  blood  of 
thousands  of  men  who  are  pining  for  the  excitement  of  their  war 
days,  and  it  will  thrill  through  them  like  wine  to  a  faint  and 
thirsty  man,  or  the  blast  of  a  bugle  to  a  warhorse. 

On  the  pth  of  June  I  wrote : 

To-morrow  we  have  our  farewell  corps  review,  after  which  the 
gallant  Twenty-fourth  Army  Corps  will  pass  into  history. 

It  will  be  a  sad  sight  for  all.  I  shall  stay  with  my  brigade 
until  the  last.  My  days  and  nights  under  Southern  skies,  under 
trees,  under  canvas,  under  ground,  in  trenches,  on  Southern 
verandas,  are  rapidly  drawing  to  a  close,  and  as  I  leave  mine 
night  after  night,  I  heave  many  a  sigh  as  I  think  that  one  more 
has  gone  never  to  return. 

Within  a  few  days  the  gth  Vermont  regiment,  which 
had  won  distinction  in  general  orders  after  hot  competition 
as  the  finest  of  the  eighteen  regiments  of  Devens's  division, 
left  for  Vermont  to  hang  its  banners  in  the  capitol  at  Mont- 


CAPTURE  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  RICHMOND  31 

pelier;  lay  aside  its  rifles,  and  sink  away  into  our  Green 
Mountain  valleys  to  disappear  from  the  sight  of  man  for- 
ever, leaving  but  a  dream  of  its  heroic  past.  Life  seemed 
collapsed  in  the  dull  routine  of  country  business,  like  the 
explosion  of  a  shell  in  the  air,  leaving  but  little  smoke  and 
few  fragments  behind  to  tell  of  the  glorious  days  that  had 
been. 


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